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Direction of Light for Food Photography

When photographing food, the direction of your light is very important. Certain angles of light will help shape the scene and can also be the difference between a successful image, and one that is just “meh”. In this article I will be sharing examples of three different types of light: back light, front light, and side light.

Back Light

Placing the light behind your subject is a common setup, and one I have used quite a bit. It is good to highlight and rim the food, and works well for images with leafy herb garnishes (such as mint or basil) as the light can shine through and light up through the leaf. Plus, it allows you to really flood the background with a lot of light, brightening up your photograph.

Side Light

Just like with back light, side light is another great choice, and is one of my favorite setups. It is especially great for foods with clear or flat liquid surfaces, as it tends to prevent distracting reflections on the liquid itself. It also adds a very nice shadow to the side of the subject, which can either be tamed with reflectors or left as-is for a more dramatic shot.

Front Light

One direction of light you may want to avoid is front light. Granted, in the right conditions (such as a space that is very well-lit in all directions) this may work okay, but in the example I have here it is not ideal. I photograph my food in a corner of my office, and the only significant light source comes from just one window. With this setup, the light only shines in the foreground and falls off in the back, leaving the image flat and filled with a dark background.

Amazing how the angle can produce such different results. I spent last week working with a pro food photography studio shooting some images for work. I was amazed at how the photographer could add and subtract light as needed by placing different white cards or black cards or little bits of reflector. It reminded me of watching my photo teacher working on a photo during the development process in the darkroom, and it makes sense… you can “dodge” and “burn” elements of the scene as you are taking the picture if you know what you are doing. It was fascinating… Read more »

Sure, you could use gobos. They are basically anything that goes in-between your light and your subject. I will oftentimes add poster-board at the base of my table to block some of the light coming in through the window (to cut the light that is hitting the table, especially in back-lit scenes).

Loved the article! They are basically anything that goes in-between your light and your subject. I will oftentimes add poster-board at the base of my table to block some of the light coming in through the window.

Sure, you could use gobos. They are basically anything that goes in-between your light and your subject. I will oftentimes add poster-board at the base of my table to block some of the light coming in through the window (to cut the light that is hitting the table, especially in back-lit scenes).

Amazing how the angle can produce such different results. I spent last week working with a pro food photography studio shooting some images for work. I was amazed at how the photographer could add and subtract light as needed by placing different white cards or black cards or little bits of reflector. It reminded me of watching my photo teacher working on a photo during the development process in the darkroom, and it makes sense… you can “dodge” and “burn” elements of the scene as you are taking the picture if you know what you are doing. It was fascinating… Read more »

Loved the article! They are basically anything that goes in-between your light and your subject. I will oftentimes add poster-board at the base of my table to block some of the light coming in through the window.

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